Æ19 - Gordian III ΠΡΟΥϹΙΕΩΝ ΠΡΟϹ ΥΠΙΩ

Prusias ad Hypium — modern Konuralp in northwestern Turkey — was a Bithynian city that leveraged the early reign of Gordian III aggressively, issuing a notably broad civic bronze coinage in his name between 238 and 244 AD. Gordian came to power at thirteen following the chaotic Year of the Six Emperors, and provincial mints across Bithynia moved quickly to align themselves with the new dynasty. The city's full ethnic legend spelling out the relationship to the Hypius river was a deliberate assertion of local identity at a moment when imperial attention was elsewhere — Gordian spent much of his reign campaigning east against Shapur I.